Personally, I only invest in SF properties where I can physically get them.

Should I connect with contractors before I start physically looking at properties to get estimated renovation costs?

One of the reasons people tend to stick to physical mailers. 

Thank you in advance for your time :)Aloha, ValThere are a lot of different types of tenants that fall in the MTR group: traveling medical (nurses, techs, ultrasound, physical therapy, dental, etc), law enforcement, government, insurance (helping displaced families of their home caught on fire or flooded) trucking, farming, etc.

For most people, I think PMs fall more in the utility or commodity “bucket” rather than being seen as a local merchant that they want to tell friends and family about.  

I seen the announcement of the new baseball stadium and I've only seen negative response for the publicI dont live there physically now - have been in Topeka going on 2 yrs now but still have my rentals there and family so am back all the time. 

I like to allocate around 35% of my investments in this area.I would say if I look at my stock market portfolio since 1998, including my passive buy and hold, and trading commodities (gold/silver/oil/agriculture) and currencies.

Some out of the box screening ideas: Does he have a business with a physical address?

How likely is the OP to find assistance with pinpointing off-market deals in Toledo, given he has built no deal pipeline, has no contacts in the area, has never made an out-of-state buy, and is physically in California? 

Your lender will probably come to your inspection and physically view the property for the bank, and they will be super hands on.